Student initiatives influence many aspects of Grinnell, whether it’s a new swing set by Younker, smoothies at breakfast every other Thursday or a student-run bike shop on the lawn of the JRC on Fridays.

One of the newest enacted student initiatives allows students to access their dining dollars and campus cash from PioneerWeb.

“My goal for the initiative was basically that I wanted to have access to my dining account information on P-Web,” wrote Hannah Yourd ’09, who co-authored the initiative with Peter Henry ’10, in an e-mail. “I thought it was weird that you could access your grades and financial aid info online, but not see how many meals or dining dollars you had left.”

Once Yourd and Henry’s initiative won enough votes on P-Web, the Student Initiative Fund Committee then tried to make it a reality.
“[STIFund Committee members] work with the administration, to the best of their ability, to make the initiative happen,” Bill Mogavero ’12, chair of the Student Initiative Committee, said. “A lot of times it’s a lot of back-and-forth communication, and coordinating a bunch of things to make sure it works out.”

Henry, working with Yourd, proposed a module on P-Web that would give students access to their P-Card information to the Pioneer One-Card Committee.

“The committee discussed it, and we set some parameters, and it seemed like a reasonable thing to do with not a huge amount of effort,” said Assistant Director of Information Technology Services Brent Jaeger.

The data is taken from the P-Card system and compiled overnight, so that the information is accurate on a daily basis.
Many students are unaware of the P-Card module, and have mixed feelings.

“I think it’s a good idea because everything’s on the Internet now, so it makes it a lot easier to access,” Diane Meisles ’12 said.
While some students were enthusiastic for the initiative, others were dismissive.

“It’s more work to go check it on the website, when everywhere else shows you your balance,” Kathy Andersen, ’13 said. “When you go the Grill you can check your balance, when you go to the laundromat you can check your balance.”

Whether or not everyone takes advantage of them, student initiatives remain an important aspect of student life.
“Initiative applications will go out in a few weeks, and then they’re due on Oct. 4—voting’s on Oct. 6,” Mogavero said.